Butter

The cereal was all soggy from the milk and I didn't feel like eating anymore. Almost immediately after I got to my room, Michael burst through the door and shoved a phone in my face. "You've got to take a look at this."

"Just leave me alone." I didn't want to see anybody.

"Annie, look at it. Seriously. It's about Loaf." He tried shoving the phone in my face again.

"Can you stop? Loaf is gone. He's not coming back. Just stop already."

"Fine. I don't care if you don't want to talk to me, but you need to read this." Michael left the phone on the table next to my bed. After he went back downstairs, I stared at the red heart case the phone was in for like ten minutes. That wasn't his phone. Wait, I told myself, I know whose phone that is. It was Livia's. I snatched it up and looked at the screen. I saw a picture of Livia's Snapchat Eyes Only Stories.

Dear Annie,

I am sorry for stealing your dog from you. That is the only way I could think of to deal with things. My parents treat me like I don't exist, and I don't know why. They ignore me no matter what I do. I see how Loaf is always around you, and you are so happy. I thought maybe I could be happy too.

Sincerely,

Livia

I set the phone back down with a tear in my eye. Livia stole Loaf from me to have someone love her. I hadn't even thought about that being a reason. For a minute, I wondered why she didn't just ask to hang out with Loaf. Then, I realized I wasn't exactly nice to her either.

Just then, I heard a cry, and muffled words. "Worthless!" It sounded like Livia's father. I thought about what I had heard before.

I put my head through the window and looked. I saw Livia on her knees and Mr. Fir yelling at her in their yard. He looked up a little. I quickly closed my blinds.

I had to fix this. I reread the Eyes Only Stories two more times. I reopened the blinds and looked outside. Livia and her father had already left. Just when I was about to go back to my room, I watched a family a few houses down as they walked together. Their little girl was hugging a puppy with a huge smile on her face.

That's exactly what Livia needed, I thought. I could I make Livia happy and get Loaf back. She just needed her own dog.

I ran down the stairs excitedly. "Mom! Dad! Can I get another dog?"

"Why would you want another dog?" Mom asked.

"Well, Loaf is gone," I said. "I'm super lonely. That's why I was mad at Livia."

"That's a real change of heart," Dad said. "It is kind of quiet around here without our little pooch."

Mom was quiet for a while. She finally nodded. "Let's head to the SPCA."

"Yay!" I yelled.

"Remember, though, you are still grounded," Mom said.

I didn't answer her, instead, I said, "Let's go!"

It took us thirty minutes to get to the SPCA. I immediately headed to the dog area. When I got in, some of the dogs started barking and some cowered in their crates. Only one caught my eye. He was standing right in front of his door, silent with his tail wildly wagging. I headed toward it and read the tag on his door.

"I am a male Samoyed," it said.

My parents came and headed towards me. I had already made up my mind by the time they came to me. "Mom, can I get him?"

"Are you sure he's the right one?" Mom asked.

I watched him for another moment. His eyes were so sweet and he looked at me like he was smiling and waiting for me. I walked up to him and he immediately tried to lick my face. I gigged. "He's perfect."

"Then we'll get him," Dad said. He called over one of the people caring for the dogs and asked, "Where do you sign the forms?"

As Dad headed to the front desk, I played with the puppy through the grate of his crate. He rolled over for me to scratch his belly. This one would be the perfect dog for Livia, I thought.

A person came and took the Samoyed out of the crate and gave him to me. We went back to our car and headed home.

I brought him to the living room and sat him down on Loaf's old bed. I didn't want to get too attached to the dog, but I just couldn't resist playing with him. By the time I finished, I had already thought of his name.

"Butter," I said.

"Butter?" Dad asked. "Isn't that the name of Livia's dog."

"Yes it is," I said.

My parents didn't say more, but I could tell they wanted to. Everything was going just as planned, I just had one more thing to do now. Convince Livia that this Butter was her forever dog.